Police accused of abusing a homeless man | The victim’s credibility was tested

Tobie-Charles Angers-Levasseur, now 38, was removed from his usual area by police officers Patrick Guay and Pierre-Luc Furlotte on March 31, 2010.

They also reportedly threatened him with a gun when he was handcuffed. The two agents of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) were charged in 2018 with forced confinement, death threats and assault.

Tobie-Charles Angers-Levasseur’s cross-examination opened with several questions regarding his use of hard drugs.

m^And Michel Massicotte, Patrick Guay’s lawyer, questioned Mr. Angers-Levasseur about his tuberculosis on the day of his testimony. The victim admitted to taking small amounts of fentanyl twice a day.

“So you bought it when you were about to come to court?” “, insisted the lawyer.

“Yes,” replied Monsieur Angers-Levasseur.

The homeless man claims that at the time he was allegedly mistreated by officers Guay and Furlotte, his use of cocaine and opiates was much higher. His addiction once cost him between $200 and $300 a day.

criminal past

m^And Massicotte listed the homeless man’s entire criminal history. The 38-year-old has numerous criminal records for violating conditions, violating probation, drug trafficking and mischief.

“Yesterday you said you weren’t a criminal. […] You buy street drugs to use. Do you agree that this is a crime? the defense attorney asked.

“I spoke badly. I should have said instead that I am not a career criminal. It is my substance abuse problem that leads me to commit crimes”, justified the complainant.

“You’re not a career criminal, but you’re a career drifter, aren’t you?” ” added M.^And Massicotte. An “inappropriate” question, Judge Geneviève Graton decided after an objection from the Crown.

Misleading statements

The defense also examined one by one the statements made by the victim during his complaint to the police at the time of the events.

In his initial complaint, Mr. Angers-Levasseur said he was intoxicated at the time of his arrest. For this he allegedly threw a decorative shrub on the public road when an SPVM van was nearby.

However, he told the court on Monday morning that he had only had a few beers, the effects of which had worn off. “I thought about it and it was really out of my regret that my money was stolen that I did,” she replied.

We would have arrested him after this crime. Police SUV supervisor confiscated a Sharpie, victim claims. According to him, she tried to write on her forehead.

The defense hounded him on this detail as well as on all of his claims in the complaint.

“You say he took the sharpie today, pressed your forehead and walked away. […] Then you’d tell him he looked like a fool because the marker didn’t work. There is nothing to indicate that in your written statement,” launched M.^And Massicotte.

“Yes, I should have said that sooner,” the witness replied.

Stormy relations with the police

Mr. Angers-Levasseur described his strained relationship with the police even before the March 2010 event.

Downtown police arrest him about 10 times a day and pepper him with fines, even though they know he is a beggar and has no job, he told the judge.

Some officers throw insults at him in front of passers-by when he is looking for rue Sainte-Catherine, according to him. Others yell at people not to give him money by humiliating him.

“Don’t give him any money, he’s a homosexual prostitute,” an agent also told the tourists who gave him a few cents.

Several have threatened to “deport” him away from his sector.

“Other police officers were more courteous and just told me to move,” he qualified.

The March 2010 event was the straw that broke the camel’s back, according to the testimony of the victim.

“What your colleagues did to me was unacceptable,” he says he told neighborhood police a month after the incident.